Here in Indiana, spring is a breath of fresh air. The skies clear, the sun comes back out, and I personally begin looking forward to planting my flowers. It can be a great time to discuss seasons of life and growth, or just celebrate the birds coming out. ? Here are some of music therapy intervention ideas that would be great for all ages (and for the music education classroom too!). Pop Song Recommendations First, I love giving some recommendations that can be used with teens and young adults! What’s popular can be ever changing and I know many therapists who can find it intimidating to try r ..read more

December is probably my favorite time of year for music therapy. It’s often a time of excitement, celebration, and a time to switch up the routine of sessions. Mind you, I recognize not all of my clients want to hear Christmas music, but I’ve found those that do are just as happy as I am to jingle-bell-rock out. Here are some of my favorite music therapy intervention ideas that I come back to every year (and would be great for the music education classroom too!). Holiday Songwriting I’ll start with my tried and true music experience - a songwriting template. I made one a couple of years ago to ..read more

Black Friday shopping is around the corner. As our company grows, we continue to find new supplies and materials to make our lives as therapists easier, visuals better, and sessions more engaging! So whether you’re a student asking for supplies for Christmas, a therapist looking to snag some deals on new materials, a music educator looking for classroom ideas, or a private practice owner trying to stay organized- here is a list of things that I would personally recommend. Session Materials Piano and Keyboard Note Labels I bought this in the past year to make playing the piano accessible to cli ..read more

Are your clients big Taylor Swift fans? Me too (truthfully, I’ve been listening since I was 12!). And lately, she has only grown more and more in popularity - with her re-recorded albums, record breaking tour, and movie coming out in theaters this weekend. At 100 million Spotify listeners a month, you’re bound to have requests for Taylor Swift’s music in your work. I’ve made or come across various music therapy resources that you can find below to share with the Swifties in your classroom or on your caseload. Anti-Hero Songwriting If you’ve been around Aspire, you know I love a good piggy-bac ..read more

Many people I know look forward to fall each year, some embracing the season sooner than others (ie Starbucks coming out with their Pumpkin Spice Lattes in AUGUST, the audacity). At least here in Indiana, we start to see the inklings of Fall towards the end of September - the evenings have been cooler, my burning bush has tinges of red, and the mums are being sold at the nearby grocery stores. I’m excited, albeit slightly sad to have less sunshine in the days. To celebrate, a couple of years ago I made this songwriting template to the long-standing Earth, Wind, and Fire hit “September.” I’ve i ..read more

Many people I know look forward to fall each year, some embracing the season sooner than others (ie Starbucks coming out with their Pumpkin Spice Lattes in AUGUST, the audacity). At least here in Indiana, we start to see the inklings of Fall towards the end of September - the evenings have been cooler, my burning bush has tinges of red, and the mums are being sold at the nearby grocery stores. I’m excited, albeit slightly sad to have less sunshine in the days. To celebrate, a couple of years ago I made this songwriting template to the long-standing Earth, Wind, and Fire hit “September.” I’ve i ..read more

Spooky season is upon us! Celebrate with your clients, discussing costumes, candy, and more with this free songwriting template to the tune of “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish. “Bad Guy” is the perfect song to use this season with it being so popular and having a haunting beat. It’s good to use for all ages - helping music therapy clients or music education students share about their preferences, what they’re excited about, and how they celebrate Halloween. Need help with learning the tune? Download the recording below as well! This can also be used as a recorded version of the songwriting for clien ..read more

One of my favorite piggy-back songwriting templates I’ve made is based off of “Introducing Me” from Camp Rock 2. It’s a great way to get to know a new client or student at the start of services, or practice meeting new people if I bring a student observer with me to sessions. My now husband and I even shared a version of this songwriting when we first started dating to share fun facts about each other! I’ve shared this songwriting template with my email list, and I’m excited to make it available now to you. It ensures the writer shares their name and gives opportunities to discuss other hobbie ..read more

I recently had the privilege of presenting to students at my alma mater about business and finances. One of the comments the professor made is that private practice is the largest growing area in our field. I haven’t personally seen statistics, but it wouldn’t come to a shock to me. I shared a list of resources with the students when I presented of tools, sites, and programs that I’ve used in getting started AND growing my company. The people of Instagram have asked, so I’m sharing the list of resources here with you! Getting Started When I was getting started launching my business, I ran into ..read more

The Encanto soundtrack has been at the top of the charts for weeks, and I cannot get the music out of my head. I’m a fan of Lin Manuel Miranda anyways, but I thought the movie also had some great characters, opened up opportunities for discussion, and beautiful artwork (whoops, I maybe watched it twice in 24 hours the first time I saw it…). I’m excited to share some intervention ideas with you to incorporate this music into your music therapy sessions or music lessons! I’ve seen individuals of all ages be drawn to the Encanto soundtrack, so I wanted to provide resources that were geared for a ..read more